Voting for Green leadership begins Saturday as candidates look to revitalize party

After a disappointing federal election result last year, the federal Green Party is getting ready to install a new leader-- or leaders.

After a disappointing federal election result last year, a series of public scandals over internal conflicts and continued a downward trend in fundraising, the federal Green Party is getting ready to install a new leader– or leaders.

Green members can start casting their ballots Saturday in a contest that will culminate with the announcement of a victor Nov. 19.

Over the course of the six-month race, leadership hopefuls have been quick to acknowledge the party’s struggles and have offered differing visions on how to heal wounds, excite supporters and attract new support at the polls.

There are six names on the ranked ballot, but four of the candidates intend to implement a co-leadership model that would see them sharing the role with another of the contenders if they are elected.

One of them is a familiar face.

Elizabeth May, the longtime member of Parliament from B.C. who led the party from 2006 to 2019, is looking for a comeback with running mate Jonathan Pedneault, a human rights researcher from Montreal.

During a leadership debate this week that attracted fewer than 500 of the party’s roughly 22,000 members, May pointed to her experience and argued she left things in excellent shape when she resigned.

“I left at the point that we had our biggest success ever with three elected MPs, a strong party with a good bank account, and I was sure that we had a great succession plan,” she said.